There are many people who receive messages, calls, and emails informing them that they have won lakhs of rupees in the lottery and the money will be credited to their bank accounts. All these messages and calls look genuine. Sadly, the majority of these calls and messages are forged by fraudsters in an effort to defraud innocent victims of their hard-earned money.

It is well known that such communications are fraudulent, so many people ignore them. Unfortunately, some innocent people believe this to be true, leading to them losing their hard-earned money. The lottery scam has caused plenty of people to lose their money.


What is lottery fraud?

Lottery fraud is an online fraud that involves phone calls, emails, SMS messages, WhatsApp messages, or letters stating that the recipient has won a large amount of money in a lottery. A person will be asked to submit their banking details in order to receive their lottery amount. In some cases, there may even be a charge for the recipient to deposit money as a processing fee. When the money is sent, the fraudsters will run away with it.

Recently, a Gurugram banking professional was duped online for Rs 67,000.

A Gurugram bank employee duped of Rs 67,000

It would appear that the incident took place on Friday afternoon when the victim received a text message on her phone asking her to click on a link that would allow her to claim reward points worth Rs 8,897, which would otherwise expire.

While surfing the internet, a woman who works at a bank in Gurgaon received a text message from her phone announcing she had won Rs 8,900. In order for her to claim her prize, she had to claim it within 24 hours or else it would expire. A link was also provided in the message to claim the reward. Seeing that the link would soon expire, the woman clicked the link. After that, she was asked to provide her bank details so she could receive the reward. After filling in her details and waiting quite a while for her reward, Rs 67,000 was deducted in four transactions from her account. The woman was told to contact the police after she approached the bank to block her credit card. Four transactions worth Rs 29,889, Rs 14,944, Rs 14,994 and Rs 7,472 were reported in the FIR.

Since this fraud is increasing every day, it is very important to be cautious before clicking any link. Because of how widespread and easy this feature is to take advantage of, fraud of this type is increasing. There are many instances where lottery fraud has caused people to lose their money.

Also Check: Beware of lucky draws and smart deals.

Tips to avoid lottery fraud - 

1. In order to avoid price money fraud, you must never respond to unsolicited offers received via email, text messages, phone calls, or any other means.

2. Never advance money to anyone who contacts you claiming to be a lottery.

3. It's never a good idea to make a payment if someone claims to be the lucky winner of a lottery. You should never give anyone your sensitive information while on the phone. 

4. It is recommended that digital escrow platforms be used for payment. When making an online payment with Escrow, you do not share your financial information with anyone. There is a platform for escrow called Vouch.

How does digital escrow work?

In digital escrow, a third-party account holds the money deposited by the buyer until the seller fulfills the terms of the contract. The escrow company supervises the transacting parties.

What is the role of Digital Escrow in preventing online fraud in India? 

Digital escrow services are offered by many companies in India. Among the most trusted is Vouch.

Vouch’s Digital Escrow service is a transparent way for buyers and sellers to build trust and secure a clean transfer of product and payment. Sellers can feel assured that they will be fairly compensated promptly, and buyers will feel confident that their order will be delivered as expected and on schedule. Vouch Digital Escrow keeps you updated and informed at every step of the transaction process till the end. Vouch’s professionals are always available to assist you with all queries that you may have during the entire transaction process. 

There is no scope for deceit or fraud since the payments, shipping, delivery, and execution are carried out under the honest and watchful eyes of the Vouch’s professionals. With Vouch, any business transaction becomes transparent, uncomplicated, and hassle-free. If you ever come across a fraudster asking for OTP, asking you to scan a QR code, or asking you to click on phishing links, you can simply refuse and ask him/her to proceed with the transaction through Vouch.


This is Fraud Story #102. Check back here for more fraud stories and scams that you can protect yourself from.

Safety is not just about protecting your credit, debit card number, and UPI accounts. It's about having control of your money till you've received the product or service you bought online!

Note: This is a good-faith initiative to educate the world about avoiding frauds like these and how to act when you're becoming a victim of such a situation. 

Do you have a fraud you would like to report? Please write to us at letstalk@iamvouched.com